Religious Education Classes 2017-2018

The focus of our Sunday school curricula for the 2017-2018 church year is Social Justice and Peacemaking. We offer classes for children from preschool through 12th grade. Visitors are always welcome. This year, we will also be offering Our Whole Lives, a sexuality education program, for young people in grades 4 through 6.

3yo-Kindergarten

Celebrating Me and My World Because social justice and peacemaking are abstract concepts for preschoolers and kindergartners, we have chosen an age-appropriate curriculum that touches on ideas that are the basis of peaceful living such as giving, sharing, helping, loving, and caring for animals and nature. The program begins with a focus on self and expands to include nature and other people. It is designed to help children develop trust, caring, a positive self-identity, and connectedness with others and the world. Each lesson includes circle time, a story, songs, and hands-on activities designed to engage children ages 3-5.

1st-5th Grade

Build a Village, Level 1 (first half of the year)

Build a Village, Level 1, is a story-based curriculum that focuses on peace and social justice. Stories are taken from a variety of different cultures and faith traditions and include The Good Samaritan, Yokut Creation Story, Pandora’s Box, Noah’s Ark, The Buddha Bowl, and many more. Each story is followed by a discussion that relates the story to our UU beliefs and principles, a project, and time for children to explore the theme freely through multiple modalities (music, games, art, guided play).

In Our Hands: A Peace and Social Justice Program (second half
of the year)In Our Hands: A Peace and Social Justice Program is considered the classic UU curriculum addressing the topic of peace. The authors explain in the introduction that “peace and justice are necessarily interdependent. Each requires the other.” The curriculum is divided into units where peace and justice are related to oneself, others, and nature/earth. Numerous mentions are made of UU principles and UU history.

6th-12th Grade

Build a Village, Level 3 (first half of the year)

Build a Village, Level 3, is about economic justice, with a focus on the global economy. Students role-play to create their own village, and work as a group to overcome obstacles and resolve conflicts. Teachers act in an advisory role as a Council of Elders, and students adopt a Universal Declaration of Villagers’ Rights.

Heeding the Call (second half of the year)

Heeding the Call is a social justice curriculum that explores oppression in our society and encourages participants toward personal growth in values that counteract the marginalization of others. Lessons on empathy, courage, abundance, joy, and other qualities ask participants to recognize how these standards can be tools for justice. Additionally, the program includes more concrete tools, such as suggestions on how to be a good ally and tips on the language of conflict resolution.